"And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD, and said, If You will indeed deliver the people of Ammon into my hands, then it will be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the people of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD'S, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering." Judges 11:30-31

Jephthah was a skilled warrior, and proved those skills on the field of battle as he led Israel to defeating their persecutors. And though he was successful on the field of war he could have been better skilled when it came to thinking before speaking. Jephthah proclaimed that he would sacrifice the first thing that came out of his door when he returned home if God would give him the victory. God gave him the victory, and when he returned home the first thing he saw walking out of his house was his daughter. Jephthah's story is one of triumph and tragedy, a story that implores us to guard our lips and to think about the words we allow to slip between them.

The Bible compares the tongue to an out of control fire, and that's a pretty good analogy of our mouth. Without thinking or giving consideration to the words we are about to speak we allow them to fly out of our mouth; and just like an out of control fire they can have disastrous repercussions. Let us be wise and think before we speak. Let us never forget the power of our words. Our words will bring life or they will bring death. Let us guard our lips, thinking before we speak that our words may bring life to all that hear them.

"I said, I will guard my ways, lest I sin with my tongue; I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle, while the wicked are before me." Psalms 39:1